My Belief System.

I fully reconcile my beliefs with science. I believe that the proof provided for human evolution is so blatantly obvious that I don’t see how people could reject it. I’m not completely sure on how I feel about the Big Bang Theory. I see it as feasible, but the concept is hard, I think, for most humans to understand. Trying to comprehend what changes could occur over millions of billions of years is almost impossible. I think that all matter in the universe has been around for an infinite amount of time. Again, infinity is a hard concept for most people to truly grasp, which is why the idea might seem so alien to some people. Humans seem to be so set in the idea of a beginning and an end to everything, but I don’t see it that way.

To put it simple: I don’t believe in God, Satan, heaven, hell, spirits or souls. When you die, you’re dead; end of story. You don’t know the difference; your mind ceases to function. The matter in the universe has been around for an infinite amount of time, no one created it.

I think that God (any “higher power”) was created by man to create a sense of security when times are rough and, as our species progressed, to explain the unexplained. When things are not going so great, the faith there is a God and he will answer your prayers and make everything alright is enough to satisfy some people. I believe this was the original intent for having a higher power, granted some of the ancient gods did punish people. I think religion in general (which is usually based on a higher power) was used as a way to control the way “the masses” acted. Each religion has a set of rules and standards to follow, which, admittedly, has helped to keep the world “livable.” As man progressed they started to ask questions that they didn’t know the answers for, such as “Where did we come from?” The approach religion seems to take to this question is something like “We can’t figure out how it happened? Then God did it!” I don’t like this approach because it seems to be choosing ignorance over hard evidence, at least in the case of evolution.

As far as what should be taught in public schools, I do believe that the Theory of Evolution should be taught. It is a big part of science, after all. I am a firm believer in separation of church and state, so I do not believe other (religious) explanations should be offered. This would be too time-consuming as there are so many religions with conflicting views, and to be fair most major religions views would have to be explored. Separation of church and state should be exactly that: separate. Let people opt to take religion classes if they wish to learn about religion in school, or make them go to private school. I don’t believe students should be able to “exempt” evolutionary theory like some schools allow if it conflicts with their religion. Schools aren’t there to please people; they’re there to teach them things. If a person chooses not to learn evolutionary theory, they’re choosing ignorance. No one said they have to believe it, but at least attempt to understand it before saying “I didn’t come from no damn monkey.”